Elevator feeding device



J. C. FRENCH.

ELEVATOR FEEDING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26. 1919.

1L,4E36,29o Patented Nov, 2L 11922.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

J. C. FRENCH.

ELEVATOR FEEDING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR, 26. 1919.

Patented Nov, Zll, 31922.

tsetse entree sra rrsnrossics,

JAMES C. FRENCH, O15 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO I. C. AUSTIN MACHINERY COMPANY, A CORPORATION O13 ILLINOIS.

ELEVATOR FEEDING DEVICE.

Application filed March 26, 1919. Serial No. 285,182.

To all whom it may canoe m:

Be it known that l, JAMES C. FRENCH, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Chicago, lllinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Elevator Feeding Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This is an improvement on the feeding device for elevators shown and described in my prior application No. 269,581, filed January 4, 1919.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangement whereby the feeding device, when the lower end of the elevator is pushed into the heap of materials on the ground, will carry or sweep the materials directly into the mouth of each bucket of the elevator, over a smooth surface disposed immediately below the lower end of the endless series of buckets, thereby to ensure a continuous and cfiicient action of the elevator while in operation.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction and combinations tending to increase the general efiiciency and the desirability of an elevator feeding device of this particular character.

To these and other useful ends the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portable elevator having its lower end equipped with a feeding device embodying the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan of the mechanism of the feeding device with certain portions thereof shown in section.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the lower end of the elevator, and of said feeding device, showing portions thereof in vertical section.

As thus illustrated, the elevator comprises a tilting frame 1 provided with an endless series of buckets 2 of any suitable or ordinary form or character, operated by sprocket chains 3, 4, and 5, and other suitable power transmitting connections, leading from the engine 6 to the upper end of the elevator, whereby the buckets of the latter are operated in the usual or well known manner. The body 7 of the machine is mounted on rear traction wheels 8 and front steering wheels 9, and the-upper end of the elevator is provided with a spout 10 which discharges into the ho per 11, the latter having a gate 12 for ischarging the contents of the hopper into a wagon or other receptacle. With this construction, the elevator is of a portable nature, and the lower end of the endless series of buckets can be pushed into a heap of sand or gravel or other materials on the ground, so that the materials, will be carried upward and finally discharged into said hopper.

To facilitate the loading of the buckets in this manner, directly from the heap of materials on the ground, an apron or horizontally disposed feed plate 13 is supported by posts 14: directly below the lower end of the elevator. These posts have their upper ends detachably mounted in brackets 15 which are preferably cast integral with the boxes or bearings 16 on the frame 1, in which bearings is mounted the lower shaft 17 of the bucket elevator. This plate is adapted to be'pushed edgewise into the heap of materials on the ground, and the buckets 2 travel downwardly and come quite close to the upper surface of the plate, before starting upward, so that the sand or gravel or other materials on the plate will be scooped up and carried upwardly by the elevator.

To facilitate the loading of the buckets from the smooth surface thus provided directly below the lower end of the elevator, feed mechanism is provided as follows: A hollow rotary member 17 is secured to the lower end of each sleeve 18, there being one of these sleeves on each post 14:, and each sleeve is provided at its upper end with a bevel gear 19 which engages the bevel gear 20 on theadjacent end of the shaft 17, whereby the two rotary members 17 are retated by the power communicated thereto from the lower end of the elevator. Each member 17 is provided with slots 21 in the circumference or periphery thereof, and curved blades 22 project through these slots,

each blade being curved about the pivotal point 23 at which its rigid arm 24 is pivotedon the inside of the rotary member, so that each blade will move in its allotted slot in the required manner. A housing 25 is arranged over each rotary member. being rigidly connected by a bracket 26 with the castings forming the bearings 16, and each housing is provided with a cam groove 27 which is circular at its outer side and flattened at its inner side, in the manner shown in Fig.

the blades sweep the sand or gravel or other materials across the surface of the plate 13 and throw the same into the mouth of each oncoming bucket, thereby to facilitate the feeding of the materials to the elevator. By reason of the shape of the cam grooves 27, however, each blade, as stated, is automatically retracted into the housing 25 while passing the buckets of the elevator, so that the blades pass without striking the buckets. Preferably, as shown, the blades 22 are of a length to project beyond the curved end edges 29 of the plate or apron 13, and in this way the ends of the blades sweep around and carry the materials with them onto the plate 13. and then throw the materials forward across the upper surface of this plate toward the buckets. Thus a smooth feeding surface is provided which leads directly to the loading position of the buckets, or-to the point where each bucket receives its load, thereby facilitating the feeding action and insuring a practically continuous operation of the buckets under conditions that insure a full load for each bucket. The dotted lines 30 represent the width of the buckets, 'and it will be seen that the blades 22, with the construction shown and described, never cross these lines. The apron or feeding plate 13 can be used either with or without the two rotary feeding devices but for ordinary purposes the blades 22 and the operating and controlling mechanism therefor are preferably used and operated in the manner shown and described, thereby cooperating with the plate 13 to feed the materials directly from the heap or mass on the ground and into the'buckets.

With the foregoing construction, it will be seen that the blades 22 are in the nature of shovel-like members for pushing the materials toward the mouths of the oncoming buckets. As the plate 13 does not move, so that any materials resting thereon are sta; tionary, it follows that each shovel-like member 22 must perform its work without assistance-that is to say, it unassistedly pushes a shovelful of the materials forward toward the buckets, as there is nothing else which has any capacity or ability to carry or push or advance the materials toward the buckets. Each shovel-like member 22 has a vertically disposed axis 23 about which it swings, and this axis is shifted around or-moved from one place to another during the operation of the feeder. Also, it

buckets thereof in position to be will be seen that the shovel-likemembers 22 have a non-circular path of travel, and do not travel in a true circle, being controlled in this respect to prevent collision with the buckets and to insure the desired results. With the construction shown and described, the blades or shovel-like members 22 operate in the horizontal plane of the oncoming buckets, and a clear space is maintained in front of the buckets, so that an unobstructed space is ensured between the heap or mass and the buckets.

What I claim as my invention is 1-- 1. In combination with a portable bucket elevator for carrying materials upwardly from a heap on the ground, a plate carried by the elevator and disposed below the pushed edgewise into the heap, so that the buckets while traveling along the upper surface of the plate may scoop up the materials thereon, supporting means holding the plate fixed against movement relatively to the elevator, and mechanism for sweeping the materials over the surface of said plate and into the buckets of said elevator.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1 said plate extending across under the elevator, and said mechanism including a pair of rotary devices disposed at opposite sides of said elevator and provided with blades, and means for automatically retracting each blade before it strikes the elevator.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, having means to transmit power from said-elevator to said mechanism for the operation of the latter.

4. A structure as specified in claim 1, said mechanism comprising rotary devices having a stationary center post to support said plate, and means including sleeves on said posts to operate said devices by power trans mitted thereto from the lower end of said elevator.

'5. In combination with a-bucket elevator for carrying the materials upward from a heap on the ground, a plate carried by the elevator and disposed horizontally below the lower end of said elevator in position to be pushed edge-wise into the heap, so that the buckets while traveling along the upper surface of the plate may scoop up the materials thereon, and supporting means holding said plate fixed against movement relatively to the elevator, with a clear space over the late between'the heap and the oncoming uckets.

6. A structure as specified in claim 5, said supporting means including a pair of posts disposed at opposite sides of said elevator and having their lower ends fixed to said plate, and means to support the posts on the elevator.

7. A structure as specified in claim 5, in combination with means cooperating with nasaoae said plate to feed the materials from the heap through said space into the buckets of the elevator.

8. In a wagon loader, the combination of an elevator having buckets arranged to travel downward and then forward and then upward to carry materials upward from a heap or mass on the ground, and a shovellike member disposed in the horizontal plane in which the buckets travel forward, said member being mounted to operate about a vertically disposed axis, and mechanism for causing the operation of said member to sweep the materials from the heap or mass toward the mouths of the oncoming buckets, in combination with a fixed plate extending under said member and buckets, to provide a stationary surface over which the materials are pushed by said member toward the buckets.

9. A structure as specified in claim 8, said member being disposed at one side of the lower end of said elevator, in combination with a similarly operated shovel-like member at the other side of said elevator, the two members having movement toward each other to cooperate in feeding the materials to the elevator buckets.

10. A structure as specified in claim 8, comprising means whereby said axis has a shifting movement along a non-circular path during the'operation of feeding the materials to the elevator buckets.

11. A structure as specified in claim 8, comprising-.means whereby said shovel-like member has a non-circular path of travel in said plane of the oncoming buckets during the operation thereof.

12. In a wagon loader, the combination of an elevator having buckets arranged to travel downward and then forward and then upward to carry materials upward from a heap or mass on the ground, and a shovel-like member disposed in the horizontal plane in which the buckets travel forward, said member being mounted to 0perate about a vertically disposed axis, mechanism. for causing the operation of said member to sweep the materials from the heap or mass toward the mouths of the oncoming buckets, so that said member is adapted and operative to unassistedly advance a shovelful of the materials toward the buckets, and fixed means extending under said member to support the materials.

13. In combination, a conveyor bucket, driving means whereby said bucket moves forward toward the mass of materials to be conveyed away, and feeding means for throwing the materials into the oncoming bucket, in combination with fixed means extending under said bucket and feeding means to support the materials, said feeding means having movement toward the bucket in a horizontally disposed plane, and said bucket having movement into said plane to receive the materials from said feeding means, so that said bucket and feeding means move toward each other while the bucket is loading.

'14. A structure as specified in claim 13, said feeding means comprising a pivoted blade adapted to shovel the materials across said fixed means from said mass into the bucket.

15. A structure as specified in claim 13, having means whereby said bucket moves in a straight line for a distance in said plane while receiving the materials across said fixed means from said feeding means.

16. A structure as specified in claim 13, said feeding means comprising blades disposed at opposite sides of said bucket and operating across said fixed means in said plane to cooperate with each other in loading the bucket.

JAMES C. FRENCH. 

